Stephen Drew still out, Lucchino defends signing

BOSTON — Stephen Drew was out of the Red Sox lineup again Friday, the fifth straight game he’s missed with an oblique injury he suffered last Sunday at Detroit. How the Red Sox proceed with Drew was going to be determined in part by how the shortstop

BOSTON — Stephen Drew was out of the Red Sox lineup again Friday, the fifth straight game he’s missed with an oblique injury he suffered last Sunday at Detroit. How the Red Sox proceed with Drew was going to be determined in part by how the shortstop came through pregame work in the batting cage on Friday evening.

That Drew has missed most of a week with an injury — an injury perhaps exacerbated by the accelerated ramp-up to game speed after he signed in late May — has given more fuel to those who were critical of the signing in the first place.

“It was a rational decision when it was made,” Lucchino said. “Circumstances were such that we needed to improve this team, and one thing we didn’t want to do was improve the team and lose talent, prospects in the minor league system. We tried to avoid that, so the idea of paying money rather than paying in prospects was appealing to us. I think we’™ll just have to see if he makes a contribution over the next nearly 100 games.”

Lucchino also fielded a question during his WEEI appearance about the role NESN ratings would have in the team’s decision to buy, hold or sell talent in advance of the July 31 trade deadline — and he was dismissive.

“You guys are perhaps more fixated on NESN and NESN ratings more so than I am,” Lucchino told his questioners. “We have a very loyal, compassionate fan base, and they also make their own assessments. We’™re not going to make a decision about this team because we think it may increase ratings by a 10th of a point or something.”